A.M. Roundup: IG probers get new powers

Good morning! And what a glorious Monday morning it is! Our G-Men are victorious, Bill Belichick is not a genius, but just a crabby old eccentric. Sorry, Bill. Sorry, Tom. I mean, AFC champion is a nice moniker. You should be proud! Anyway. Enough of that. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in New York City today, as the legislature returns to Albany. It’s going to be ridiculously, unseasonably warm, so get outside! Here are today’s headlines…

“I congratulate the New York Giants on beating the odds and winning Super Bowl XLVI,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a statement. “After nearly missing the playoffs, the Giants have made history by becoming the first NFL team to win the Super Bowl after going 9-7 in the regular season. I look forward to celebrating this victory with all New Yorkers.”

Fred LeBrun rips Cuomo’s position on teacher evaluations: It could just as persuasively be argued that he, Andrew Cuomo, is the one primarily responsible for “blocking progress” toward a statewide teacher evaluation format that would pass muster with the feds for $700 million in Race to the Top funds, the State Education Department and the unions. All those stakeholders were on the verge of signing just such an agreement last year, an agreement that did include a rigorous new teacher evaluation standard. But the governor intruded with a letter May 13, 2011, specifying he wanted a higher reliance on state standardized tests as a measure of teacher effectiveness than even the law allowed. (TU)

Fred Dicker posits that Senate Republicans will halt action on the rest of Cuomo’s agenda if they don’t get their way on redistricting. (NYP)

The New York World gives a step-by-step guide on how to gerrymander legislative districts. (NY World)

The New York Times, as it pans LATFOR: Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to veto anything from this politically driven commission. There is talk in Albany of a phony compromise that tinkers with these terrible maps and promises to do better in 2022. Mr. Cuomo should reject that, too. The governor has said he thinks these maps will end up in court. That looks to be the best chance for New Yorkers to get fairer elections. (NYT)